“No,” Charlotte said, her eyes widening. “You’renot. Don’t think you can lie to me, Allie Lawrence. I’ve known you too long.”
Allie looked into the eyes of her best friend in the world and let out a sigh.
She had promised to keep this secret. And Tripp was right—telling Charlotte was as good as telling Tag and maybe their teenage daughter, too. And from there, it would be no time at all until the whole family knew.
But Allie had been holding onto her worries for too long to keep them to herself any longer. Not when she and Charlotte had this unique opportunity to chat privately.
“It’s not real,” she heard herself murmur.
“What’s not real?” Charlotte asked.
Allie opened her mouth and closed it again, suddenly not even sure where to begin.
She pointed to the ring on her finger.
“No,” Charlotte breathed.
Allie nodded, pressing her lips together.
“Your engagement?” Charlotte asked, her eyes wide. “No, Allie. Not that, right?”
“It’s… complicated,” Allie said, looking down at the pretty little ring. “He just wanted someone to walk around with at the Fun Festival since his ex was going to be there with her new boyfriend.”
“He’s trying to make her jealous?” Charlotte asked, looking unconvinced. “That doesn’t explain him putting aring on your finger. I don’t really know him yet, but this doesn’t sound like you at all.”
“Well, when she appeared, she shared that she was pregnant,” Allie said. “And then her boyfriend said something about her wanting anormalkid this time.”
“Was that a dig on Maya?” Charlotte asked, looking horrified.
Allie nodded, feeling angry all over again at the thoughtless remark.
“So, I kind of overreacted and basically blurted out that we were engaged,” Allie admitted. “And that we thought Maya was going to be the best big sister ever because she’s such a remarkably wonderful child.”
“She sure is,” Charlotte said, her eyes twinkling. “And that actually does sound a lot like you. But that doesn’t explain why you two are still at it.”
“Libby and Hayden are staying in town for the holidays,” Allie said. “And Ash offered to help me with the greenhouse if I let this play out until they leave.”
“Wow,” Charlotte said, nodding thoughtfully. “I’m still lost though.”
“Why?” Allie asked. There wasn’t much left to be lost about. She had pretty much laid her cards on the table.
“None of that explains the way you two look at each other,” Charlotte said. “I know you can sing like an angel, but you’ve never been that good of an actor.”
Allie’s best friend’s words struck her right in the chest, and she sucked in a quick breath, trying to figure out how to tell her the rest, the part that had left her tossing and turning in her bed every night sinceSaturday.
“Here we are, ladies,” Barbara sang out as she came in pushing a little cart.
“Oh, wow,” Allie breathed.
The cart had a little tray with two champagne flutes full of something pink, and several more trays of tiny cakes and fruit with cheese. If Allie could have described the treat of her dreams, this would have been it.
“Pink lemonade and petits fours,” Barbara said with a big smile. “Come lounge and enjoy, and I’ll have a few dresses brought out.”
Charlotte met Allie’s eyes and the two of them followed Barbara over to a low sectional sofa covered in soft pillows.
“Get comfy. We’ll start bringing things out for you to look at in a few minutes,” Barbara said, winking before she disappeared again.
Allie grabbed a tiny pink cake with a white frosting bow and popped it into her mouth.
